Press Releases

DeVry University, one of the nation's largest for-profit universities has agreed to a multi-million dollar lawsuit settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The case filed in January 2016 charged that at least since 2008, DeVry's deceptive marketing tactics deliberately sought to lure students into enrollment with false promises of job and income security upon graduation. Prospective students were told in their recruitment and in advertising that 90 percent of DeVry graduates would secure employment within six months of matriculation in their chosen fields. A second institutional

Today, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) released research showing that in Colorado, companies that purchase bad debts and attempt to collect on them frequently pursue the wrong person, try to collect the wrong amount, or pursue a debt that is not owed. Debt buyers flood the courts with lawsuits, though they often do not have the documentation to ensure that they are pursing the right person for the right debt. Debt buyers pay pennies on the dollar for bad debts and then attempt to collect the full amount. Further, the debt buyers count on the fact that most people will not hire a

Targeting Borrowers of Color Only Widens the Racial Wealth Gap The California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) published a new research report this week that shows payday loan stores in the state are disproportionately located in heavily African American and Latino neighborhoods (PDF). Combined, African Americans and Latinos make up almost 44% of the state's total population--and in those communities, on average, nearly 60% had six or more payday loan stores compared to white communities at 28%. DBO's research reflects a 2009 report by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) that shows

Innovation Should Not Come at the Expense of Consumer Protection, Evade State Anti-Predatory Lending Laws Today, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced its intention to offer national charters to financial technology firms, which could severely undermine state oversight and state consumer protection laws that protect consumers and small business owners from abusive financial products and practices. The OCC is accepting comments on its framework until January 15, 2017. Before the OCC’s announcement, 49 organizations sent a letter to the Comptroller expressing "strong

Brown, Sherman Bill Would Prevent Wells Fargo from Using Forced Arbitration Clauses in Real Accounts to Block Customers from Suing over Fraudulent Ones The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) today applauded the introduction of the Justice for Victims of Fraud Act of 2016, a bill to give Wells Fargo customers who were victims of a fraudulent account opening scheme their day in court. The legislation was introduced by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and U.S. Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA), a member of the U.S

United Effort to Maintain a Strong, Independent Consumer Protection Agency Today, Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), and other civil rights and consumer advocacy organizations, as well as 21 members of Congress submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the case of PHH Corporation v. CFPB, in support of the CFPB. The groups and members of Congress urged the full court to grant the CFPB's petition for a rehearing of a 2-1 panel decision last month, which they believe incorrectly ruled that the

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), along with the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights and NAACP, applauded the U.S. Department of Energy for strengthening its Best Practice Guidelines for Residential PACE Financing in final guidance issued Friday. The Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program is intended to finance energy efficient home improvements through municipal loans, but low-income homeowners have risked losing their homes to foreclosure through the program because appropriate consumer protections have been absent. "PACE loans can be dangerous for consumers because

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a petition for rehearing before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit urging the court to revisit a three judge panel's 2-1 decision made last month on CFPB's enforcement order in PHH Corporation vs. CFPB. In its decision, the panel ruled that the President must be able to remove the CFPB Director without cause. Civil rights groups underscored the need for the CFPB to preserve its independence as a strong regulatory agency, as Congress intended, and support the Bureau's efforts to have the decision reviewed

On November 8, 75% of South Dakota voters approved reducing the cost of payday loans from 574% to 36% annually. At the same time, a significant majority of South Dakotans rejected the payday lenders' proposal to allow permanent unlimited rates. The rate cap ballot measure approved by South Dakota voters will cap the annual interest rates at 36% for payday, car title, and installment loans. The voters' decision aligns South Dakota with protections already in place for active-duty military nationwide, and makes South Dakota the 15th state to prevent the harms of high-cost debt trap loans. Center

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced final regulations amending the Borrower Defense to Repayment provision of the Higher Education Act (HEA) to ensure that students and taxpayers do not have to bear the financial burdens that arise when predatory higher learning institutions make misrepresentations and fail to provide students with an adequate education. These kinds of bad practices severely limit students’ professional outcomes and ability to repay their loans. The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) is particularly concerned about the impact of these practices on borrowers of